HAAS has given the world a first look at a 2019 Formula 1 car, with the American outfit unveiling the fresh colour scheme:ย  the first black-and-gold colour design since Lotus in 2015.

Haas chose a combination of red, grey and black in their first three seasons in F1, but for the new campaign, the teamโ€™s livery will incorporate the black and gold colours of their new energy drinks partner and title sponsor Rich Energy.

โ€œItโ€™s important that we keep progressing as a team,โ€ Haas Team principal Guenther Steiner said.

โ€œOur partnership with Rich Energy is another positive example of moving forward as an organisation.โ€

William Storey, CEO of Rich Energy, added a swipe at Red Bull:

โ€œWeโ€™re looking forward to taking on Red Bull โ€” both on and off the track,โ€ he said.

โ€œWe intend on being in Formula 1 long, long term and we believe that Haas are a dream partner for us.

โ€œTheyโ€™re a David taking on Goliath within Formula 1 and weโ€™re doing the same in the drinks business.โ€

Storey conceded Red Bull was a โ€œbrilliant businessโ€ but still hit the Austrian company with some harsh truths about more than just its F1 operations.

โ€œI think we have already beaten them โ€” we have a better-looking car.

ย โ€œWe are expanding very quickly, we are taking a huge amount of business from them.

โ€œSome of the biggest drinks distributors in Europe are delisting Red Bull now, and I think our results will start to speak for themselves. F1 is a wonderful platform for us.

โ€œWe feel that there is a little bit of apathy and hubris in the marketplace and we think that we have a real opportunity to beat them โ€” off the track.โ€

Haas finished fifth in last yearโ€™s standings, two places behind Red Bull.

Winning the midfield fight is therefore likely to be a more realistic immediate target for Haas, but team boss Guenther Steiner insisted there is nothing wrong with setting ambitious goals.

โ€œYou have to try hard. If you have no targets you never achieve anything,โ€ he said.ย 

โ€œItโ€™s an ambition. In racing they are very good, but you never know.

โ€œLast year we had the fourth-fastest car and finished fifth, but the next one up was Red Bull.

โ€œWe can try. If you donโ€™t try you donโ€™t achieve it.โ€

While Steiner acknowledged the team remained inconsistent in 2018, its carโ€™s pace was such that it was regularly the fourth-fastest team behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

While still relatively little-known, Rich Energy has been linked with involvement at F1 teams for the past two seasons but potential tie-ups with Force India and Williams have not materialised.

So why approach Haas?

โ€œBy every metric they were vastly superior,โ€ Storey said.

ย โ€œTheyโ€™ve got the best business model in the sport and they are uniquely positioned to exploit regulation changes.

โ€œThey are run in a very unpretentious fashion, they are proper racers and Gene Haas is a wonderful businessman who is approaching motor racing in the right way.โ€